{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T20:00:39Z","timestamp":1790280039832,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6-7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]],"date-time":"2026-07-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784160000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003725","name":"National Research Foundation of Korea","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RS-2025-16072569"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RS-2025-16072569"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003725","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Asia Pac J Public Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Drug use among Korean adolescents is rapidly increasing and emerging as a critical social and public health issue. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of lifetime drug use among a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents and to investigate the influence of mental health and risk behaviors on adolescent lifetime drug use. This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the 2022-2024 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 159\u2009383). Lifetime drug use was defined as any nonmedical use of sedatives, stimulants, analgesics, or narcotics. Sociodemographic, mental health, and risk behavior factors were examined using chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression across three sequential models. Higher risks were observed among women, high school students, those living alone, and adolescents with significant anxiety (GAD \u2265 10), sadness or despair, or suicide attempts. Heavy drinking (aOR = 2.42, 95% CI = 2.03-2.91), lifetime smoking (aOR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.03-1.58), heated tobacco use (aOR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.10-1.68), sexual experience (aOR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.67-2.34), and violence exposure (aOR = 2.99, 95% CI = 2.45-3.65) were also strongly associated with drug use. These findings indicate that adolescent lifetime drug use is influenced by overlapping sociodemographic vulnerabilities, psychological distress, and co-occurring risky behaviors. Adolescents experiencing anxiety, emotional distress, social disadvantage, or engagement in other high-risk behaviors are particularly susceptible to lifetime drug use. The results underscore the need for a multifaceted prevention framework that integrates mental health promotion, early screening for psychosocial risks, and concurrent prevention of high-risk behaviors.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/10105395261465727","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T05:09:01Z","timestamp":1784264941000},"page":"498-506","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Interplay of Mental Health, Risk Behaviors, and Socioeconomic Factors in Lifetime Drug Use Among Korean Adolescents: A Nationally Representative Study Using KYRBS 2022-2024"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"38","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4916-5485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jungmin","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1342-2769","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Soo-Hyun","family":"Nam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Nursing Science, Gyeongkuk National University, Andong, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-021-11906-2"},{"issue":"11","key":"e_1_3_3_3_2","article-title":"Substance abuse amongst adolescents: an issue of public health significance","volume":"14","author":"Nath A","year":"2022","unstructured":"Nath A, Choudhari SG, Dakhode SU, Rannaware A, Gaidhane AM. 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